


Away On Business

by willyouboy



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Always Female Castiel, Big Brother Gabriel, Brother-Sister Relationships, Businessman Castiel, Chance Meetings, F/M, Female!Castiel - Freeform, First Meetings, Fluff, Genderbending, Genderswap, Hotels, Human Castiel, Phone Calls & Telephones, Romantic Friendship, Rule 63, Sassy, Sastiel - Freeform, Slow Burn, Work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-24
Updated: 2015-01-14
Packaged: 2018-02-10 05:42:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2013150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/willyouboy/pseuds/willyouboy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cas is away on business for a conference. She finds the hotel staff to be helpful, perhaps not purely professionally so.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Miss Novak?”

She yawns before she can say anything into the phone that she’s got sandwiched between her cheek and the pillow. She keeps her eyes closed and almost doses off again.

“Um, miss?”

“. . .yeah.” She sighs out the word more than says it. 

“This is your morning wakeup call that you requested for 7:30, is that correct?”

“Yes, yeah.”

Cas uses her freehand to tug the covers up over her shoulder. It’s warm in the room and quiet, and that’s all she needs really. The jet lag helps too as she tries to remember what she’d been dreaming about.

“Miss Novak?"

“. . .yes?”

“Have a good morning.”

“Thank you.”

“Should I call back again in a few minutes?”

“Yes, please.”

His laugh is some cross between amused and polite before he hangs up. She smiles a little too. She is kind of being ridiculous. The meeting will be happening in a couple hours in a different hotel and she’s not even sure what traffic’s like in this town. Plus, she had planned on squeezing in a shower beforehand. She’ll have to blow dry, put touch of makeup on, get dressed, eat something . . . She needs to get up. 

Her body’s not obedient though. Her hands work together to submerge her better under the bed’s layers. She uses the side of her face to nuzzle her head more fully into the pillow. Her deep breath takes her more than she takes it. She loses a bit of consciousness with each exhale. Every inhale just strengthens the trance. 

The phone is loud and sends her heart racing and she blinks wide as she scrambles to sit up and reaches for the phone. 

“Hello?” 

She knows she comes off a little louder than she needs to as she calms her breathing.

“Yes, miss Novak? This is your follow up call.”

She rubs a hand down her face, “Okay.”

She scoots back in the bed, presses her back against the headboard adding, “Thank you.”

“Of course. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“No. No, thank you.”

“Have a good stay.”

Cas almost says ‘You too,’ but then she catches herself. 

He hangs up before she can find something else to say instead. 

She wants to stall is what it really is. Oh well. 

First things first, a quick shower. And it’s just that: hop in, quick wash, hop out. 

She stands with a towel wrapped around her as she blow dries her hair, looks at herself in the mirror and tries to think about what little things she can do to make her face look more awake. No eye shadow, she ends up just adding a bit of liner, blush, and chapstick. Nothing wrong with keeping things simple, besides, she doesn’t have that much time left. In fact, if she wants to eat something she’ll have to hurry it up with the getting dressed part. 

Her eyes keep darting over to the clock on the nightstand as she pulls on a navy pencil skirt, a white blouse that she buttons up most of the way, then she steps into her heels and puts on a navy blazer. She uses her reflection in the window to fuss with her bangs a little bit then tucks her hair behind her ears. Hmm. From what she sees the weather looks alright, a little windy, but she’ll be inside most of the time so she decides to just leave her coat as she heads out the room, briefcase in hand.


	2. Chapter 2

He’s tall.

The man in the uniform who opens the door for her when she gets back to the hotel has got to be somewhere between six and seven feet tall. Cas notices that he’s not awkward about it though. He doesn’t stoop or slouch at all as he stands aside to let her in.

He’s got a nice smile. She smiles back.

On her way to the elevator she hears his footsteps trail after her for a bit before they fade. She glances over her shoulder and sees the man make his way behind the front desk. There’s a girl already there who looks young enough that this might just be her summer job.

Cas glances around the lobby she sees that there are no other guests, no one sitting in the matching set of dark leather chairs, no one’s standing by the large vase of fake plants waiting for a taxi. In the lobby it’s just her, the friendly tall guy, and the teenage girl. Neither of them look at her, they’ve got their heads down at the front desk; one typing, the other one dialing on the phone. It’s quiet except for the faint elevator music playing in the background. Speaking of, Cas continues toward the elevator. She presses the button pointing up then waits, reaches around in her briefcase to get her room key ready. She really wants that bed. 

Cas listens to the mechanics of the elevator making its way to her, albeit a bit slowly. She’d noticed that this morning too, the sluggish churning of the old machinery. Makes sense, this isn’t exactly the newest looking building in town. 

The elevator dings dully and the doors open for her. 

As she steps inside she can’t help peeking out at them, the two staff members. They’re still busy of course, even as the elevator doors slide shut and Cas begins her ascent. 

She readjusts her grip on her briefcase, takes a couple steps back on the carpeted flooring until she’s able to lean back against wall and close her eyes. She’d barely been able to stay awake during the meeting. Even though the conference this week had seemed pretty organized on paper, in person, it had seemed like everyone had their own ideas of how things should go. There were a lot of ‘Well frankly, I think’s and ‘To be fair maybe we should consider’s and a couple ‘Well this is what they’re doing over at insert-competition-name-here.’ She’d always known that the first day wouldn’t be entirely productive, but all of the politely veiled complaints were just draining to listen to after a while. All the mannerly bickering made her want her room and the bed and those cozy blankets where it’s quiet. 

The doors slide apart and Cas lifts herself from the wall and steps into the hallway. Her free hand pulls through her hair, starting at the bangs. It really doesn’t matter if it’s a mess now. There’s no one she plans on seeing between now and tomorrow’s seminar. 

When she gets into the room the first thing she does is leave her briefcase by the door. Next, she bends to one side then the other to peel off her heels, sets them by the door too. She’s already treating this place like home. Might as well a little bit, she’ll be here for a week after all. There’s going to be a whole week with days like today. It feels so much later than what the bedside hotel clock is telling her. 

Cas gets ready for bed like a daydream. Everything just sort of blends into each other as she moves.

As she changes she knows that she should hang up her things, but she makes a pact with herself. She’ll definitely iron tomorrow. 

For now though she crawls onto the bed, literally on all fours, then tucks herself in, right in the middle of the mattress. It’s awful remembering that she needs to set up an alarm just as she gets comfortable.

Cas slips her arm out from under the covers and just barely raises her head from the pillow to find the phone, find the button that goes straight to the lobby.

“Front desk, how can I help you?”

It has to be him, the tall man.

“I’d like a wakeup call. . . Well, I need a wakeup call.”

There’s a chuckle in his voice. “May I ask which room you’re in?” 

“Six seventeen.”

She can hear the muted rustle of pages being turned.

“Miss Novak?” He sounds like he has the phone set in a pinch between his cheek and his shoulder. His voice sounds a little too close, a bit muffled but she can understand him.

“Yes?”

“What time would you like,” he lets himself laugh a little, “what time do you need the call?”

Cas can feel her ears warm.

“Seven thirty, please.”

“Of course. Anything else I can do for you Miss Novak?”

“No, thank you.”

“Enjoy your stay.”

Once again, she can’t think of what exactly she’s supposed to say back to that. Luckily though, he speaks up, cuts off her search for something clever to say. “Uh, excuse me. . .”   
He sounds hesitant, and it sounds like he’s holding the phone with his hand now.

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry, but I just wanted to confirm. Is it Miss or Mrs. Novak?”

“Miss.”

“Okay, just wanted to be sure. Have a good night.”

“Goodnight.”

He hangs up just as she realizes what she’s said.


	3. Chapter 3

She wakes up in the middle of the night after some dream about home. It’s almost completely dark in the hotel room except for the dull light of a street lamp glowing in from around the edges of the curtains. There’s also the weak green light coming from the digital clock on the nightstand. 

Cas turns over, away from the curtains and the clock. She can’t even remember what her dream had been specifically, just remembers that part of it had her walking barefoot through her house. 

No use thinking too hard about it, she’s got to be up in a few hours. She considers counting sheep but that’s never worked for her. Instead, she pulls the sheet up over her head, stretches her arm out beneath her pillow. That does the trick.

She misses the phone with her blind hand when it rings later. For the first few rings she refuses to stick her head out until it’s clear that she’s just not going to be able answer without looking. 

“Miss Novak?”

“Mhmm?”

“This is your wakeup call for seven thirty.” He’s just as patient as the day before.

She pulls in a deep breath, “Okay.” 

With the phone to her face she figures it’s okay to close her eyes again.  
His voice wakes her up. She’d maybe gotten a few seconds in.

“Miss Novak? Would you like a follow up call?”

“Please.”

“Alright,” he sounds just as amused as he had yesterday, “is fifteen minutes okay?”

She’s too drowsy to be embarrassed.

“Yes.”

“Of course.”

They hang up and Cas is out right after, doesn’t even get to dream though before the phone rings again. She pulls it too her face, moving as little as possible.  
“Hello, Miss Novak?”

“Yehh. . .”  
She yawns before she can help it, doesn’t turn her head away in time. 

“This is,” he waits for her to finish, “um, this is your follow up call. It’s seven forty-five.”

She almost groans then blinks and finds the digital lines of the seven, four, and five facing her on the table.

Next time she’s going to come into town a day early just to sleep. 

“Miss?”

“Could I get coffee?”

“Uh, to your room? We can do that.”

“Thank you.”

She kicks the covers away as she sits up. 

“Any cream or sugar with that?”

“Just sugar.”

“Sure thing.”

“Thanks.”

“It’ll be up soon.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course.”

Cas hangs up and forces her feet to touch the floor, forces herself to hurry up and strip and put something professional on. After she’s dressed she notices her little pile of clothes on the other side of the bed. Tomorrow, she’ll iron things tomorrow.

The knock on her door is light.

Cas opens the door to a girl in uniform holding a saucer of hot coffee with packets of sugar on the side. She waits patiently just in the doorway, ponytail over one shoulder. “Can I come in?”

It takes a second but Cas steps to the side, “Yes.”

The girl nods and walks in with a small practiced grin as she sets the saucer down on the nightstand. She goes back to where she left Cas standing with the door open and pulls out a billfold from her back pocket. “If I could just get your signature. . .” 

Cas takes the black leather booklet, signs the receipt, then hands it back to the girl. Well, girl might not be fair. She could just have a young face. Either way, she’s gone with a polite nod. 

With the door closed the room smells completely like coffee. As it cools Cas finishes getting ready. 

When she stirs in the sugar she finds that she’s got less than an hour left. It hadn’t taken too long to get there the other day so there’s not too much to worry about.

Hopefully today will be more productive. There should be something to show for coming all the way out here. 

She takes a sip of the coffee and it heats her mouth, doesn’t burn though. It’s good, hopefully good enough to perk her up some soon. Just as a precaution she dabs a bit of makeup on and runs a comb through her hair. All combed out it goes just past her shoulders and today she’s in the mood to sweep her bangs to the side a little. In the mirror she tilts her head one way then the other. Satisfied, she turns off the light, picks up her briefcase, and double checks that she’s got her room key.

The elevator takes a bit of time, but it gets to her. She rides it down while holding her briefcase’s handle with both hands, lets the body of it rest against her knees. She slightly bounces them in time with the music that’s playing quietly from the old speakers. The song is one of those ones that she’s sure she’s heard it before but can’t remember when.  
A couple or so minutes later the doors pull open and the elevator dimly chimes. 

The lobby’s empty again, no guests anyway. The tall man is behind the counter, greets Cas with a kind smile, “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” she still has a hint of her sleep voice left but it’s mostly been worn away by the coffee.

“Miss Novak?” He steps around from the counter slightly, puts a hand on top of it as his fingers fiddle with a corner.

“Yes?”

“There’s a taxi here for you.”

“Oh.”

She looks outside before she can help herself. 

There’s a taxi’s running just outside the glass doors. The driver’s got his arm outside the window, he’s scrolling through his phone. 

Cas looks back to the hotel employee, “I never, I haven’t called a cab yet.”

“Oh, yeah, I called one for you. You seemed like you were short on time.”

He looks unsure and near to apologetic as he straightens up. His eyes are some type of hazel that she hadn’t noticed before. It’s easy to tell that he’s resisting putting his hands into his pockets as he switches his weight and glances outside. “I can cancel it for you. I just thought-”

“No. It’s fine. Thank you.” Cas readjusts her grip on her briefcase.

He nods and looks a bit relieved. “Of course.”

He starts to make his way back behind the front desk, dismisses himself with a polite and professional expression. 

“Excuse me.” Cas’s fingertips come up to the bottom edge of her lip, almost like she’s not sure she’s the one who spoke. He turns to her, brows faintly raised.

“Um,” she sticks her hand into the zipper of her case and pulls out her wallet.

“No, please, it’s fine.” He sounds embarrassed as she starts fingering through bills. 

“Are you sure?” She already has a five pinched in her fingers as she looks up at him.

“Yes,” he laughs, “but thank you. Here, lemme get the door.”

He passes her and she follows, tucking her wallet away as she goes. He’s able to push the door open with a single spread hand against the glass. Because it’s eyelevel, she sees his name tag as she leaves.

Sam.


	4. Chapter 4

Today had definitely been more productive. Everyone seems to more or less be on the same page now.

She tips the driver when she gets back to the hotel and goes straight to her room, eyes closed on the elevator ride up. When she manages to block out the soft music she can almost feel the mattress at her back. By now someone’s probably stopped by and made the bed and she’ll get to push herself into the tight sheets. She’ll shuffle her legs around beneath the covers until she’s made things cozy, and after that, the plan is to drift off, get a complete eight hours for the first time in a while. 

The age dampened ding of the elevator stirs her just enough to get her feet moving. Feet, shoes. She’s got to get out of these shoes. Like an itch, her toes only seem to start throbbing now that she’s thought about them as she makes her way down the hall. 

It’s nice and dim after she lets herself into the room. The curtains are just as closed as when she’d left and it’s perfect, an unexpected addition to her imagined paradise-like moment with the bed only a few steps away. She leans her briefcase against the nightstand without even looking down and barely manages to resist crawling on all fours onto the duvet. No sleeping in a pencil skirt. It would ruin the whole sensation she was hoping for since the elevator. Since before that really. 

She doesn’t even unzip her suitcase all the way before she’s plunging a hand inside to grab around for one of the t-shirts she knows she mixed in there somewhere alongside the button ups and blazers. It’s a blind hunt but she’s satisfied when she pulls out an old shirt from college. She never wore it out in public so it had kind of honestly always been fated to be the perfect sleep shirt with its worn away letters and the crumbling image of the mascot. She lays it out on the corner of the mattress and keeps her eyes on it the entire time as she gets herself out of her meeting attire. 

Eyes on the prize, keep the goal in sight. 

She’s sure neither of those phrases were meant to be exactly this literal but staring at the softened crewneck is the only thing stopping her from crawling into bed as she is. The only time she looks away is when her eyes slip shut as she sighs as she steps out of heels and feels the cool carpet beneath her stocking covered toes. 

She shimmies out of her stockings and skirt in one go and her fingers fly down the button down and she’s got her college tee pulled over her head already when her cell rings. It’s a dull buzz somewhere in the pile beside her suitcase that continues after she’s put her arms through the sleeves. It could be important. 

Hopefully it’s nothing she has to leave the room for. She’d really, really, rather not. 

Somewhere not entirely in the back of her mind she knows that she could move a little faster as she rummages through the heap of fabric. Somehow though, she manages to answer in time. Lucky her.

“Hello?”

She can’t help wrinkling her nose as she sits on the edge of the bed because really she should have answered with her last name in case this is in fact an important call. 

“Oh good, you’re not in a ditch somewhere. Good to know!”

Oh. 

She sighs and puts her hand through her hair, “Gabriel, I completely forgot.”

She was supposed to call as soon as she had checked in. Fulltime adult or not, it’s always been Gabriel’s believed duty to remind her that she’ll always be his little sister.

“Yeah, no kidding. So, how’s the room? Good view? Top floor? Unpronounceable branded chocolate waiting on your pillow?”

Cas can’t exactly help the touch of a smile that tugs at her. She’s been forgiven. 

“The room’s nice. The view’s fine, and . . .” she checks over her shoulder just to be sure, “no chocolate.”

“Well fuck that.”

She doesn’t mean to laugh, truly.

He catches her up on what she’s been missing on his end then asks about the conference. She gives him the mercifully quick version and shares how many times she may have imagined each member with and without hair. All sorts. Toupees, mustaches, beards, eyebrows even. It’s shaved off a decent about of time every now and again. Gabe says he’s proud of her and how she’s using her degrees. When he announces that his dinner’s done they say their goodbyes. As she scoots beneath the covers she thinks about ordering something herself but really she’s just tired more than anything. She’s kind of been waiting for this all day. 

She clicks off the lamp and burrows herself as deep as she can without covering her face. Just a few more days and she’ll be on her way home. 

Her dream slides in seamlessly. It takes place during some summer memory like the 4th of July, or maybe it was Gabriel’s birthday. Either way, it was in the backyard of their childhood home and it was late afternoon. Someone was singing, but just when Cas thought she could place the voice the phone is ringing. Not her phone. It is the sharp hollow hotel phone and it’s relentless. 

She fumbles for it, watches the outline her hand glow with the green light from the clock on the nightstand. The bright lines blink 10:23.

“Hello?”

Again, she doesn’t answer with her last name, but then again, this probably isn’t a business call.

“Miss Novak?” His voice is so soft and rushed. “Sorry, I just wanted to catch you before it got too late. Would you like a wakeup call for tomorrow morning?”

Oh, that’s right. “Seven thirty?” That’s what she’s been asking for, right?

“If you want.” From the sound of it, he’s got the phone cradled against his shoulder like before. He sounds so close and she can hear the click of the pen he’s pulled out. “There. Alright, it’s done.”

“I’m already awake.” She says it with her eyes closed.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re whispering, but I’m already awake.”

He puffs out a breath and it seems like the whispered version of a laugh, “Goodnight, Miss Novak.”

That must be her cue, because it works wonderfully after she tries a couple times to land the phone back in its place. She's asleep before she even pulls her arm back under the covers.


End file.
